I do not know foreigners comedy sense. I watched Eddie Murphy in childhood.
English Translation
Misora Shomu did not hate her job.
"Communication Administration, Third Information Compilation Division."
It’s a long title, but the work itself was surprisingly mundane. Her daily routine involved filtering through the massive influx of communication logs, public information, analysis requests, and reports, ensuring there were no unauthorized acts or violations of protocol.
In a world where extraordinary powers exist, systems to monitor them have long been in place. Where there are those with powers, there are those who abuse them. There are equipment users who specialize in communication, and others who master complex ciphers. Heat-sensitive invisible inks, multiplex encryption, information fabrication—requests to decrypt such things were a daily occurrence.
However, for Misora, a second-year employee, such frontline cases rarely crossed her desk. Sorting. Categorizing. Verifying. Sorting. Categorizing. Verifying. Occasionally, coffee. More sorting. That was her daily cycle. Still, she had no complaints. Her parents were both workers; not wealthy, but they prioritized her education. She moved schools twice. Sometimes she made friends, sometimes she lost them. With each move, she retreated a little further from reality and deeper into the digital world—games, anime, internet culture, fan fiction, daydreams, and analysis.
She loved those things. That’s why she didn’t mind her current job. Watching the ocean of data was somewhat fun, even if it was tedious. Perhaps that was why she had a habit of overthinking things.
That day was no different.
"Panacea."
The word appeared again. Watching the logs of people contemplating the panacea, Misora let out a soft sigh. Panacea. Immortality. Perfect healing. Mental recovery. Restoration of lost limbs. Overcoming death. Even as society matured, people still sought these things. Perhaps because it was mature, they sought them all the more. Incurable diseases, aging, parting, regret—faced with such things, people cling to straws. Thus, records regarding the panacea had always been common.
Nothing special. But Misora was a little bored that day. And so, her mind began to wander.
Kohar Ametan. Otome Gorai. Shu Hiiragi. Kaisei Sa.
Watching the names of those who had been thinking about the panacea, Misora stared at them aimlessly.
Ametan (Rain), Kaisei (Sunny weather). That’s weather.
Gorai (Roaring Thunder). That’s weather, too.
Haru (Spring), Hiiragi (Holly). Seasonal.
Shu (Week/Perimeter). That character looks like a roof.
I’m being so sloppy, she thought.
She checked the names of their Trail-Manifestation Equipment. Illusion Frog. Evening Whale. Prison. What could they mean? She didn't know. But the sounds had a certain appeal. A giant whale blowing spray in the sky—it felt like rain. Frogs felt like rain, too. She couldn't grasp the meaning of "Prison" at all. It was just a way to kill time. Not a conspiracy theory. Not an attempt to uncover the world's secrets. It was on the level of a convenience store clerk thinking, "That person is buying natto again."
But when you see them every day, they stick in your memory. Then, she became curious about her own name.
Shomu Misora. No Autumn (Shomu). There is Sky (Misora).
Shomu. It sounded cool.
No Autumn. Not bored (akine). No empty space (aki).
She almost burst out laughing. That would be dangerous. She was at work. She would look like a weirdo. She managed to hold it back, but it was amusing.
The associations expanded further. Rain, Clear, Thunder, Spring, Sky. "No Autumn." What is this? It sounds like a story. No, no. That’s impossible. It’s just the bad habit of someone who loves analyzing. Misora told herself that.
During her break, she bought a drink and sat at her desk, staring into space.
A panacea, huh? she thought. What would happen if it were really made? Would people stop dying? Would they stop aging? If all diseases were cured... then what would people do if they wanted to die?
She felt a shiver. What was a panacea? Was it about curing disease? Or ending death? Would it cure loneliness? Boredom? The monotony of life? If one lived for a thousand years and got bored, would that boredom become a disease? Misora didn't know.
Living for a thousand years with a kind husband. She couldn't imagine it. But if new games kept coming out for a thousand years, that might be fun. Besides, as long as the world continued, digital content would keep being born. Maybe she wouldn't get bored.
Suddenly, she remembered an old text from an "Otherworld." The moon, eternity, defilement, immortality. It was something like that. She didn't quite get it in the end. She couldn't judge if living forever was true happiness. To keep living while slowly changing her way of life, enjoying content, and realizing she had lived for hundreds of years—that might not be so bad.
Shrugging, Misora dismissed the thought. It had nothing to do with her. The panacea didn't exist. Even if it did, it was far removed from her life. That’s just how it was.
Back to work.
Just as she thought that, a small support unit on the corner of her desk moved slightly. "Electric Ant." That was the name of her Trail-Manifestation Equipment. She wasn't a particularly skilled user. Her parallel processing success rate was still low. They said it was equipment suited for office work.
But that day, a few ants moved on their own. Wings grew. And then, they flew.
"Huh?"
Misora let out an involuntary sound. They were no bigger than a small drone. Sometimes they acted strangely. Was it a glitch? But the ants headed toward the window and vanished from sight.
A colleague laughed from beside her.
"Don't worry about it."
"But they flew away."
"That's just how ant-type trash-tier equipment is."
"I suppose so."
"They'll be back."
That made sense. Perhaps so. Misora was convinced. They were just ants. They’d return eventually. Even if they didn't, it was only a few. It wasn't a big deal. So, she didn't worry about it. She went back to her tasks.
Panacea. Kohar Ametan. Otome Gorai. Shu Hiiragi. Kaisei Sa. And the winged ants that had flown away. She had no reason to connect them. Only one thing—when she looked back at the records later, Misora would realize:
The winged ants that flew away that day were, to the last one, all female.
..................................................................
From the perspective of a battle-worn wild-type yokai currently thinking about heading solo into the Kishin-X raid:
"Though you might pare down my 'assets'..."
"Well, it generally doesn't work, but this is my final creation, tangled with virtual currency."
"I should study up on my vocabulary, too..."
Gemini は AI であり、間違えることがあります。
